


Seventh Heaven

by MidoriKurenaiYume



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Clash of ideologies, Consensual Sex, Dialogue, Dialogue Heavy, F/M, Magic, Resolved Sexual Tension, Sexual Content, Woman on Top
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-05 13:13:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11578794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriKurenaiYume/pseuds/MidoriKurenaiYume
Summary: Looking for a place to spend the night while travelling with her loyal Knights, Arturia (or rather, King Arthur) finds herself at a very eerie inn, almost an otherworldly place, whose strange owner seems to hide many secrets behind his smirk. Or at least, as many as she does.





	Seventh Heaven

**Author's Note:**

> I was working on Magia and while deleting a few parts that didn't fit I decided I had enough material for a one-shot. I was in a rather gloomy mood, I guess.  
> This is set in King Arthur's era, therefore when everyone thinks that Arturia is a man; however, there are a few changes, for example she isn't married to Guinevere. Also, I will assume that you are familiar with the ideology clashes from Fate/Zero, because this fic mentions them, but only superficially.  
> Warning: the tags are there for a reason.
> 
> Title: from a Kalafina song, title track of their album 'Seventh Heaven' ;) um, let's just say that I believe the meaning fit?  
> Anyhow, enjoy :)

…

…

It was becoming too dark to continue travelling; they had no choice but to stop for the night.

The only – but important – problem was, they weren’t entirely sure where. Arturia had kept as vigil as usual during their galloping through this unknown part of her kingdom, but she had not noticed an inn anywhere, or even just a house where she and her knights could ask for hospitality for the night.

However, they needed to find a refuge as quickly as possible, since continuing riding with the mist that was slowly creeping up was going to pose a danger; they could lose sight of the road, but they could also lose sight of each other. The fog, together with the darkness, was already making it difficult to observe their surroundings.

She decided that, since they had no other choice, they would continue, at a more sedated pace and taking care to keep all together, until they found a suitable place in which to spend the night; and Arturia hoped it would be soon.

As if an answer to her wish, a slightly secluded building seemed to materialize out of nowhere in the midst of the mist on one side of the road. It was surrounded by trees and there seemed to even be a stable next to it. From the old, but still visible sign outside, it appeared to be actually an inn.

Arturia gave the signal to stop, and dismounted, followed by her knights. The place didn’t look particularly inviting, with the strange eerie aura that surrounded it, but in this dark, foggy night, now threatened also by the distant sound of a thunderstorm approaching, it seemed able to provide adequate shelter, and for the Knights of the Round Table, it would be more than sufficient.

Two of the knights, at Arturia’s indication, went to find out who the owner of the place was and to request hospitality for the night. They came back almost immediately, confirming that it was an inn and that any guests were very welcome.

However, Arturia noticed that her two knights looked slightly uncomfortable. Upon questioning them, she only learned that they believed that the welcome they had received had not made them feel completely at ease, even though they were unable to pinpoint what exactly had not entirely convinced them. She considered briefly, and then indicated for everyone to follow her to the stables, where they would leave their horses for the night.

In a low voice, she reminded them all that a storm was probably approaching and the inn was their best option at the moment. Just as precaution, she invited everyone to keep their weapons on them, hidden if they preferred, but always close.

As they left the stables, after making sure the horses had enough to eat and would spend a comfortable night, well protected from the rapidly worsening weather, they entered the spacious hall of the inn.

Arturia believed she was beginning to see what her knights had meant when they had said they didn’t feel ‘at ease’. Something about the place seemed… eerily peculiar, for lack of a better definition.

“Welcome, my guests,” came a strange voice from the side, a slightly darkened corner that had escaped everyone’s notice before.

Most of the knights were startled by the owner’s – as it was obviously the owner – voice suddenly speaking up, but Arturia kept her cool. Usually, when they were in a place outside her lands, Arturia didn’t speak herself, letting one of the knights lead the conversations so that her identity as leader of the party was not made obvious, but they were in her kingdom, therefore, while she was not going to flaunt her kingship, she wasn’t going to conceal it either.

She stared at the person who had spoken, who was still half-hidden in the shadows, and spoke firmly.

“We thank you for your generous hospitality at this late hour, and rest assured that we will pay for our stay. In the morning we will depart again.”

The person remained still for a second, before advancing into the light. He was a tall, blond man with odd, gleaming crimson eyes and strikingly exotic features. His gaze was sharp, and it travelled over his guests with openly bored disinterest until it stopped on Arturia, and a strange expression that held a close resemblance to a smirk appeared on his face.

“King Arthur,” he stated, recognizing her, and while she did not move, her knights tensed almost imperceptibly, their hands preparing to draw their weapons. The inn owner did not pay them any heed, and continued, unperturbed, “What an unexpected honour to have you here. It’s been a long time since anyone of royalty visited this place.” His eyes flashed briefly. “How… refreshing.”

Before any of the knights or Arturia herself could say anything, however, the tall man bowed his head slightly, an amused expression now adorning his face. “But I was regrettably forgetting my manners. I am Gilgamesh, owner of this place, and in a few seconds the servants will guide you to your rooms.” His crimson eyes were clearly entertained, but because of what, it was impossible to guess. “I wish you all a… _restful_ night.”

Almost unnoticeably, he disappeared in the shadows again, only to be immediately replaced by several servants, who were all keeping their heads dutifully bowed, and who guided the knights to their bedrooms. Arturia nodded at them, before following the servant closest to her towards another part of the inn.

It seemed, as they went up three different staircases and through an intricate maze of several corridors, that the place was much, much larger than she had previously thought. Her initial impression of the inn having something extremely peculiar hit her again, as she considered the owner’s brazen attitude, and now also the servants’ strange behaviour.

She had noticed how, for her knights, the servants opened the various bedroom doors and entered together with the men, presumably to make sure they had everything they needed to get settled in. For her, instead, aside from guiding her to a room that seemed more spacious and slightly more isolated from the rest – from where, she knew, it would have been difficult to call her knights in case something happened – the servant simply opened the door and bowed, indicating for her to enter and then closing the door behind her.

Something about the entire place was off.

She looked around briefly. The room was large, with a fire already lit, looking surprisingly comfortable for such a secluded inn, and the décor was refined and luxurious, if maybe a little old-fashioned. Still, Arturia couldn’t completely shake off the feeling that something wasn’t quite right about it.

However, as it did not appear to be anything dangerous – just… odd – she decided that there was no point in merely standing in the room and observing it without doing anything else. She was rather tired, as she had been riding with her knights for several days now, and the following morning they were going to continue with their journey back to Camelot. She should take advantage of this opportunity to get some rest.

Nonetheless, being careful wouldn’t hurt, and as she always did when she was in an unfamiliar place, she didn’t take off her garments. She couldn’t be certain about the dangers around, and as she was concealing her gender, it wasn’t in her interest to give anyone the chance to see her unclothed.

Keeping her sword hidden but close at the same time, she decided she could risk lying down for a while, even though it was going to be a bit uncomfortable with the armour and the weapons; but since she had experienced worse, this was fine.

She had just sat down on the bed, when suddenly someone spoke, revealing another presence in the room.

“What a pity that you are not undressing.”

Arturia did not move from her position, but her hand closed around the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it at the first sign of real danger. Not far from her, on her side, there was the inn owner, Gilgamesh, with a lazily relaxed expression on his face, who stared at her as he casually removed the unusual garment covering his chest.

She kept her eyes solely focused on his movements, expecting an attack of some kind, but he seemed solely concentrated on taking off his clothes. He stopped when he noticed her guardedness, and smirked slightly at her.

Wary, she rigidly questioned, “What is this? What are you doing here?”

His smirk still in place, he looked her body up and down, his eyes conveying his languid interest, and ignored her question to tell her, “To better rest, you should take off your clothes for the night.”

She held her sword more firmly, even if still hiding it from view, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

“How _dare_ you make such an outrageous request. Leave my room, _now_.”

Gilgamesh didn’t seem fazed.

“Oh, I’m afraid that is not possible, as this is _my_ room,” his smirk widened fractionally, “and you are my guest for tonight.”

Arturia kept observing his movements closely, her mind thinking on his words, until she narrowed her eyes even more, feeling sudden revulsion creeping into her.

“What is this place – is it a brothel?”

He actually had the gall to chuckle lightly.

“It can indeed be considered a pleasure house,” he nodded, as if he was considering the term for the first time. “With the small twist that people do not come for pleasure, but we draw them in to pleasure _us_.”

A sense of horror invaded her, and this time, she stood up abruptly, still keeping her sword hidden but with a definite sense of urgency.

“What have you done to my knights!?” she shouted, feeling dread inside her. In what kind of place had she guided her brave, loyal knights…! She recalled all too well how the servants had entered the bedrooms together with her men, therefore–

He didn’t look concerned in the least.

“Oh, you should not worry about them. While they are giving pleasure to my servants, they are receiving immense pleasure as well. Come morning, I will wipe their memories and they will not remember anything but having spent a restful night of sleep.” He grinned, obviously amused at the thought, and made to lean forward to bring his hand up to actually touch her – probably to undress her.

In less than a second, Arturia evaded his touch and drew out her sword, flashing it through the air and pointing it at the man’s throat. Some locks from her tight bun came loose, but she held her free palm on her hair to keep it in place.

“What kind of demon are you?” she hissed, only determination in her voice.

If he was surprised by her sudden unsheathing a weapon, he didn’t show it, but she noticed that his hand did stop in his movements and he slowly drew it back. His crimson eyes considered her for a split second, before his lips stretched in a thin, very thin smile.

With one hand holding her hair out of her eyes and the other steadily keeping the sword up to make sure he stayed away from her, Arturia felt herself tense. That strange smile appeared to be far more dangerous than anything she had witnessed from him until now.

“I will tell you a story, King Arthur. A story of a King from the past.”

She didn’t move.

“You surely know of those creatures the mortals like to call ‘Gods’, although in your time, religion has evolved into worshipping one single deity instead of many. Those worthless beings,” – had she not been holding her sword so firmly, she probably would have winced slightly at his blatantly blasphemous and disrespectful words – “sought to punish my defiance of them, and cursed me.”

The smile was even more dangerous now. “I do not age. I do not die. I see the centuries change and fade, empires rise and fall, kingdoms flourish and disappear – which is what happened to my own, by the way.”

Arturia’s eyes widened slightly and she stared at him, horrified.

“You… are you _undead_?”

Instead of reacting with one of those dangerous smiles, as she half-expected, he merely scoffed.

“Undead do not exist,” he coldly declared. “I’m just trapped in this filthy world and unable to escape it. And do you know, King Arthur, what is the worst part of immortality, the curse the Gods so malevolently bestowed upon me?”

He leaned slightly closer to her, uncaring of her sword even as it still posed a very real threat to him – in spite of his immortality – and he stared at her.

“The real curse is _boredom_.” His eyes flashed in obvious anger. “This world is dull, uninteresting and so indescribably lacklustre that only a madman would choose to spend more than a lifetime in it, as it offers no worthy purpose. There is, however, a solution for it – a temporary one, but still a solution.” He grinned openly. “Finding _pleasure_.”

She now leaned forward as well, the blade of her sword directly touching the skin of his throat.

“So this is what you do? To avoid being constantly bored, you lure travellers here to _use_ them as your entertainment?” The disgust in her features was obvious to see.

He didn’t attempt to move anymore, the tip of the sword kept him rooted in his place.

“Not exactly – all my servants are very willing in offering _temptation_ to the travellers who come by this hidden place, and while they provide us pleasure to face this dull life, we give them pleasure too, even though they will forget it afterwards.”

Suddenly, his expression changed, becoming close to something she would call curious. “Should they decide not to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, they will not be forced to, but no one has ever resisted such strong a temptation.”

Again there was curiosity in his gaze. “You are however the first not to give in, King Arthur.”

Her features remained narrowed, disregarding his last words.

“Are my knights unharmed?” She wanted to know this. She had led them to his odd place, she had to make sure they would not suffer awful consequences for her decision.

Gilgamesh seemed ready to do something as inelegant as rolling his eyes, but didn’t actually carry out the action, even though his annoyance was palpable.

“My servants will look after them properly. They have each chosen their favourite before leading them to their rooms.”

So this was the reason why they had entered the room together with them – to _have their fun_ with them, Arturia realized. Before she could say anything else though, he added, calmly, “And don’t try to go ‘help’ them. This room is locked.”

She sent him a look filled with contempt, as she weighed her options and tried to figure out what to do next.

“Why did you bring me to your room then?”

The question escaped her, and she would have liked to take her words back as soon as she had pronounced them, as they were only encouraging this unearthly being in front of her.

His eyes gleamed on her, once again seeming completely uncaring of the sword pointed at his throat.

“I always choose the traveller before any of my servants, and it has been a long time since a King came to this inn. Normal mortals have usually little to offer, but I have heard many tales about _you_ , King Arthur,” he stared at her with some strange, laidback intensity, “and I want to see if you live up to your reputation as a warrior in the bedroom as well.”

What did that mean? Just because he was half-undressed in front of her, in the room she was supposed to spend the night in, and he had talked about getting his pleasure–

Finally, inwardly wondering why it had taken her so long to reach this simple conclusion, Arturia understood at what he kept hinting he wanted from her.

“I’m not interested,” she coldly replied through gritted teeth, holding her sword still firmly against his neck.

He laughed, not impressed nor concerned by her refusal.

“I want you in my bed for tonight, to see if the King of Britain is capable of pleasing _me_ – the ancient, immortal King of Uruk.”

At this, she startled slightly.

She knew of a place called Uruk; in her studies, she had learned of the ancient city-states existing in the region of Mesopotamia – yet those reigns had been not just centuries, but millennia before her time.

Then… this meant… unless she attempted to brush off everything he had told her as pure nonsense… this meant that the man in front of her was just as old.

Almost on instinct, she took a step back, still holding the sword up, ready to deliver a deathblow on him if he tried anything. He may be immortal, but she was rather confident that she would be able to wound him nonetheless.

“So you’re into men?” she asked, attempting to distract him, even if just slightly.

Taking advantage of the increased freedom in his movements, he casually undid the sash around his waist, thus removing another article covering him, and simply shrugged.

“Why should the difference between males and females matter when there is attraction,” he bluntly stated, and she gritted her teeth again.

She knew very well that even in her court there were many, males and females, who preferred to be with people of the same gender, and it happened often between master and student, although she had never been interested in learning more about it.

“I will not allow you to force me–”

“Indeed, as I said earlier, I will _not_ force you,” and this was so unexpected that she stilled for a moment. “But should you decide to give in to the temptation of pleasure…”

She openly glared at him over her sword. For her knights, it seemed she was not going to be able to do anything until morning. For her own situation instead, she was thinking rapidly, debating whether or not to use the fact that they were in an unearthly, otherworldly place to reveal one of her secrets that would put an end to this charade, but ultimately decided against it.

“I refuse then.”

His eyes swept over her face again, noting her determination.

“You would simply receive pleasure,” he pointed out, still rather relaxed, and suddenly a smirk appeared on his lips again. “Unless, the mighty King Arthur is actually _unable_ to–”

She took an abrupt step forward, her sword again going to unflinchingly rest against the skin of his throat. She changed her mind in regards to her previous decision; in order to make him leave her alone, she had no other choice but to tell the truth.

“You will not play your games here,” her voice came out low and controlled, and a strange shadow in it seemed to catch his interest. “For I am King Arthur, and I am a woman.”

Her other hand, which had been holding her hair out of her face, let go, and her long, golden locks cascaded down her back and around her face. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to give her uncompromising features a more feminine look, making her real gender much easier to guess.

For the first time since she had seen him, Gilgamesh looked truly taken aback, and he stared at her with eyes slightly larger than usual that openly showed all his surprise. He had looked languid, lazy and sometimes even slightly bored until this point, but the change in his behaviour was complete: he was truly focused now.

Before he could say anything, she pressed her sword even closer to his skin, and in a deadly voice uttered, “Speak of this to anyone, and curse or no curse, you will die.”

He kept staring at her, for a while still seeming incapable of speech, until finally a ghost of a grin appeared on his lips.

“Well now, this is a rather unexpected development.”

Seeing her narrow her eyes, he went on, completely calm, “And for what reason would I tell anyone such an amusing secret?” As her expression didn’t change, he made a show of sighing. “Very well – no one will know it from me.”

She took a step back, lowering her sword slightly but not lowering her guard.

“I’m not interested in any kind of pleasure you might suggest. Besides – I am not male.”

He raised an eyebrow, not moving from his position and not letting his eyes leave her.

“As I already said, how does that have anything to do with feeling pleasure?”

She stared back at him, frowning slightly.

“You wanted to lay with me, believing I was a man. But I am not.”

Open amusement danced on his features, and she observed him carefully in the firelight as he understood what she meant.

“I care not for gender, and neither should you. My offer still stands, same as before.”

As the implications of that brazen sentence hit her, she felt like cursing. She had revealed her gender hoping that he would lose interest – hoping his sexual tastes were solely for males – but it appeared to have produced the opposite effect. Apparently, his appetite was for _both_ genders.

His eyes, gleaming even more, seemed to appraise her form with a different, deeper kind of attention.

“What kind of being are you?” she questioned, feeling extremely out of her element in this situation.

She had never revealed her gender so easily to anyone, and this stranger, this person from another time seemed able to unsettle her so quickly. She held her sword up towards him again.

He shook his head slowly, before turning away slightly to go sit on the bed, making a gesture that invited her to sit down as well.

“You have been capable of honestly surprising me, first by resisting and now with an unexpected revelation, but this is not a pleasant way to conduct a discussion. Come sit with me.” At her glaringly distrusting glance, he added, annoyed, “I merely intend to _talk_ , King Arthur.”

She stared at him, noticing the firelight flickering over the perfect skin of his upper body, while clothes – very few – still covered him from the waist down. She had no desire to prolong the conversation, since after having made clear that he didn’t pose a threat to her, all she wished was for a decent night of rest. But it didn’t seem likely that she would obtain it in this situation.

That didn’t mean, however, that she would sit down next to him.

“I’ll stand,” she calmly said, and again, surprise appeared on his face, even though this time it was only a brief flicker before it was replaced by amusement.

“Suit yourself, King Arthur.” He stretched languidly, and she averted her eyes, not interested in observing how the muscles on his naked chest reflected his movements. “Arthur cannot be your real name. It sounds too strange.”

The question was implicit, but she hesitated for a while, before finally saying, slowly, “You may call me Arturia.”

He didn’t comment, and simply stared at her, eyes filled with much more keen interest than she recalled seeing before.

“So what is the King of Britain doing in these remote parts of the land?”

Such an inquiry was – _seemed_ – innocent enough, as strange as the thought was. She didn’t shrug, even though she would have if the question had come from one of her knights.

“My knights and I completed a quest successfully and are now returning to Camelot.”

“And back in Camelot, what awaits you?”

A small but definite smile appeared on her lips.

“The next quest.”

He didn’t seem to like that answer, because he leaned forward slightly.

“So you have nothing but duty in mind.”

Offended by the mockery in his tone, she sent a hard glare in his direction. He had no right to be derisive of her life, when all he thought about was finding pleasure.

“Contrary to you, I have only one lifetime, and I have no time nor interest in anything else, much less what you consider to be your objective – _pleasure_ ,” she chillingly informed him, her eyes ablaze. “Your every action, your every word proves that you are obviously the incarnation of sin. And while you seem intent on _tempting_ me, know that I will not give in to sin.”

To her slight surprise, he chuckled, staring directly at her, as if he was capable of seeing right through her.

“Resisting to sin would be something that is a tough mission for normal fools. While some of your actions are indeed foolish, you are not one of the normal ones.”

He stood up with a fluid but still sudden motion, and her fingers tightened again around the hilt of her sword. “For normal people, giving into sin is the easy way. For you, giving into sin is actually _difficult_.”

He came even closer and, while she held her sword firmly, she didn’t raise it. “You are so used to denying yourself that doing something that is considered sinful doesn’t even appeal to you anymore.”

He was now close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin, and his hands were within reaching distance. “But every habit, no matter how deeply rooted, can be broken.”

Another sudden step forward, and he was kissing her, his lips pressing against hers, his hands touching her, pulling her entire body to him, and at the unexpected contact she shivered uncontrollably–

Then she roughly shoved him away, her sword coming up again and being pointed at his throat. She glared at him, completely and utterly furious at his boldness.

“I will _not_ be your tool in finding pleasure in this world you detest, Gilgamesh of Uruk!”

“If I had wanted a tool, I would have chosen one of your knights,” he cuttingly pointed out.

His pupils were strangely dilated, and he seemed slightly out of breath, but he did not allow that to stop him from continuing in his bitingly correct accusations. “It’s no use glaring at me – you know perfectly well that that is what they are, even for you.”

Her sword pressed into his skin, but he disregarded it. “Any king wouldn’t have allowed his knights to be so far from him – but _you_ did not protest about this room being isolated from the rest of the building, which means that you are used to, and prefer, dealing with things on your own.” A strange, fleeting and bitter grin appeared on his face. “Your loyal dogs may have all the qualities you need to keep them around you, but they are not able to resist when faced with temptation – unlike you.”

Outwardly, she didn’t show any reaction aside from the hardening of her features, but she felt herself vacillate inside. How dare he make such accusations towards her knights…!

But he was far from done.

“Oh, and you certainly have put as objective wanting to protect them, but you go about it as if they were objects, objects to collect and put inside a safe box and guard with your life – which is precisely what you are doing for them! Did you ever wonder what they think about it? Did you ever ask them what _they_ want? You certainly are a thoughtless, _foolish_ King…”

“Says the man using unknown travellers as objects to satisfy his desires inspired by an empty and completely meaningless existence,” she mordantly shot back, and saw him actually _flinch_ at her last words.

She would not let this arrogant, otherworldly being intimidate her, and she stared at him, her gaze uncompromising and, although wounded by his accusations, still firm.

“I am not without faults, and I am far from being beyond judgement,” she finally said after a moment of silence. “But _you_ are most certainly not the one who has the right to judge me.”

A longer silence stretched between them, during which they merely stared at each other. They were both standing in the middle of the room now, between the fireplace and the bed.

Suddenly, without moving from his position, he spoke again.

“Do you even know how to _feel_ , Arturia?”

He had not used her real name before, and she became rigid when he did, unused to anyone pronouncing it beside herself. However, she stifled the unfamiliar emotion as best as she could, and kept holding his gaze with sufficient firmness.

“What kind of–”

But he interrupted her.

“ _Feel_ , Arturia. Do you know how to? Or have you pushed every emotion not pertinent to duty out of yourself?”

She was silent, and suddenly, changing his position with unnatural rapidness, he was closer to her again, and his hands were almost ghosting over her skin.

“You tried to suppress it, but I saw you shiver a few moments ago, and not because of the cold.” His eyes held an odd, meaningful light, and her only answer was a tight glare, because she knew he was right.

“You are not as detached as you would like to be, as you believe you _ought_ to be. Yet your beliefs are misguided. If you don’t _feel_ the pain your subjects suffer, you will never understand them, and if you take on their burdens and protect them without understanding them, you will not relieve them of the weight, you will leave them bare and naked.”

Suddenly he smirked, and her hand clenched around the sword. “But, as you proved, you do have it in you to _feel_.”

She could not deny it without lying, something she would not lower herself to do, therefore she pointed out, “What if I don’t want to?”

He seemed rather amused at that.

“Oh, I’m fairly _certain_ you don’t want to. But you need it.”

She didn’t know how he managed it, but he somehow came even closer, still without touching her, and she channelled all her growing rage into one cutting glare, and her reply was blunt.

“I need to be focused to do what is best for my kingdom. I _cannot_ afford any meaningless distractions.”

“Yet you have been staring at my chest – very briefly, but you have,” he accurately indicated, making her freeze. A smirk appeared on his lips. “You are already unfocused, and you are quickly becoming distracted by the person in front of you.”

He expected her to glare at him again, and perhaps blush, but instead, she suddenly narrowed her eyes and glanced around.

“You have enchanted this place, haven’t you?” she accused him, eyes narrowing even more. “That’s why you lure travellers here so easily.”

He inclined his head to the side, strangely sombre.

“It is true that travellers are brought to this place through an enchantment,” he readily acknowledged. “But once they are inside the inn, they maintain their free will.”

“And I should trust the word of a man who has lived thousands of years?” she questioned, openly doubting him. “I don’t know if anything you say is to be believed. Who can actually guarantee to me that my knights are truly well and you haven’t poisoned them in their sleep, for example?”

His eyes now narrowed as well.

“I have nothing to gain by lying to you, as I will wipe your memory come morning anyway,” he reminded her, and she glared at him once more.

He brushed her concerns aside and focused instead on their earlier subject of conversation again. “You gave yourself the mission to protect and serve your kingdom – but right now you have a distraction.” He indicated himself, smirking slowly. “An _attractive_ distraction,” he asserted, shamelessly, and she could not, she could _not_ contradict him.

He leaned forward even more, his lips almost over her ear. “If your mission is so important to you, you will not allow yourself to have any distractions around. Therefore…” suddenly his hand closed over hers, the one that was holding the sword, and he stared deeply into her eyes. “…take care of the distraction.”

His meaning was clear, not leaving her the possibility to misinterpret his words as a suggestion for her to strike him with her sword. His desire for her was obvious, but what bothered her the most was the fact that _she_ felt desire too. He had not been exaggerating when he had pointed out that she was feeling _distracted_.

This man was an ancient being, and she – or rather, _her body_ – was feeling attracted to him. She didn’t know if it was their conversation that was drawing her in, or an enchantment – for she wasn’t going to trust his word so easily – but whatever it was, it _was_ there.

And aside from leaving her the choice, he was doing something as unexpected as offering his own body.

“Why?” was all she managed to get out, after several long moments of silence.

His crimson eyes flashed, and in that moment, she could read his power in his gaze – but also the fact that, oddly enough, he was not using it.

“You might be worthy.”

Unflattering, unkind and unpleasant – but oddly straightforward and truthful.

If she gave her own rules… it would be _her_ decision, her making a conscious _choice_ , no matter the consequences.

After pronouncing his words, he simply waited. He was not a patient man, but he soon found out that he was not going to be forced to put his limited patience to the test.

Abruptly, she took a step forward and pushed him back. Gilgamesh stumbled for a step, before landing on the bed, while she stared down at him.

“Very well.”

Just two words and a terse tone, but she was agreeing. Therefore she added, mostly to avoid focusing on the fact that she _had_ given in yet also because this was the only way she was going to have it, “But only if I have control.”

It was clear – she would not submit to him, nor would she allow him to have control over her. And he wasn’t really surprised when he felt anticipation – and arousal – run through his veins at hearing her words.

He did not like having to relinquish control, especially not in the bedroom, but it was admittedly an experience he had never had throughout his long centuries of existence; therefore, trying it with this unwavering woman-king could prove to be an experience not just to be enjoyed, but _savoured_ as well.

As she came closer to him, he grinned up at her.

“I will thoroughly enjoy watching you take your pleasure, _King Arthur_.”

It was not fully explicit, but he was clearly promising her that yes, she was going to be completely in control.

His grin became wider as she climbed on him to straddle him with her golden locks swaying with her body, and the glint in his crimson eyes was predatory even though he was now pinned underneath her.

He had little clothes left to remove, and she set to the task, methodically, not looking at his face as she did so but feeling his eyes on her nonetheless. Arturia was still fully clothed, with her armour as well, and as she could sense his impatience, she stared at him for a moment, wondering if he would keep his word since he so obviously wished to rid her of her own clothes.

His eyes travelled over her body, making it clear that he very much wanted to rip every last piece of garment off her – but he did not move, his hands remaining lying down at his sides, even though a tremor ran through them, as he held back in his desires.

A small, genuine smile crossed her features at seeing him keep his promise and, still slightly surprised at her own daring, she straddled him more firmly as she began to remove her armour and clothes.

She had been only halfway done in finishing undressing him, yet again, while obviously not too happy about it – the prominent bulge below his waist left little doubts about his excitement – he did not intervene, leaving her to continue with her task.

His eyes looked intently at her body as she took off her clothes, and she sensed him hungrily stare at her breasts, in particular as she took off the white straps she used to keep them bound, but she was too focused on freeing herself from those restrains to feel any kind of bashfulness.

After a while of staring though, he was not able to remain still. As more and more of her skin was progressively revealed to him – her heavy armour and her sword being joined by her clothes on the floor – he held himself up on his elbows and, never tearing his eyes from her, leaned forward abruptly, finding her mouth.

Taken by surprise, she jerked back, still straddling him but preventing him from reaching her, making the contact between his lips and hers brief and fleeting. But then she decided it wasn’t an action she disliked and, astonishing him slightly, leaned forward, capturing his lips herself in a deep kiss.

Her tongue wasted no time in entering his mouth, and it didn’t take her long to realize that she _liked_ this strange connection. By the way he hummed and smirked against her lips, she was certain he felt the same emotion.

Her hands had stopped undressing either of them while she was focused on kissing him, and they had remained still on his chest, holding onto him for support. Once they separated, needing to breathe, she found his crimson eyes burning on her, considerably glazed over.

Over their heavy breaths, he spoke slowly, huskily, admitting that his restraint had broken.

“You will have, and you do have, the control you crave, but there’s a limit to _my_ self-control, Arturia – and you are pushing far beyond those limits with your _every_ movement.”

For all reply, she grinded her hips against his, as if to test the truthfulness of his words. She was immediately rewarded when his eyes darkened, and he was unable to stop himself from letting out a hiss of pleasure.

She was both surprised and pleased by this, and experimentally grinded her hips against him again, advancing slightly at the same time, so to find herself closer and closer to the only part of his anatomy that was still covered by clothes. Her blonde hair fell forward with her, but while he followed the locks with his eyes, she chose to ignore it instead. She drew more reactions from him, but also strange, unfamiliar sensations from herself. Her hands didn’t remain idle as she moved her lower body; she had already gotten rid of almost anything, there was little left, therefore she shrugged the last of her clothes off her shoulders.

Gilgamesh’s hisses came more frequently now, following every movement she made, but she noticed how his eyes seemed to concentrate even more firmly on her when he realized that she was now fully naked. She was not ashamed of her body nor did she feel the need to cover it anymore, therefore she wasn’t bothered by his gaze.

Perhaps it was presumptuous of her, but his expression truly looked like one of a man who was making an extraordinary effort at resisting the _temptation_ in front of him yet was never going to admit it.

Unbeknownst to her, that was _exactly_ what he was feeling, together with the impatient wish of getting rid of the rest of his own clothes, as their constriction was starting to become painful.

She didn’t let him wait for long. Staring at his body, she leaned forward slightly, to lift her hips so to be able to slide his last garments off him, leaving him as naked as she was.

In such a position, she could see his entire muscular form better. It was rather strange, having him lying down in front of her, _underneath_ her, giving her such power over him. Travelling over his body, her eyes finally met his again, only to find him staring back at her, unafraid and unabashed – in fact, he even had the audacity to smirk once again.

He didn’t seem bothered at all by his apparently submissive position, as he clearly believed he could _still_ exercise some control nonetheless; with his perfect body alone, he had her in his power.

She was not going to stand for it. She had agreed to this game, but with her own rules.

Finding a better position, on all fours over him, she crawled forward without hesitation. She had had time for hesitating, for considering this, now it was all to be disregarded – she had made her decision already.

Her fingers came to touch his chest lightly, tracing the curves of the muscles there, and she was taken aback not by the shiver that ran through him at the gesture – she had been aiming for it – but by the shiver that ran through _herself_ too.

It was suddenly as if her skin was on fire, the flames spiking up, making her tremble and something inside her coil tightly and already start to pool lower, lower and lower, in the junction between her legs, and she had to make an effort to stop herself from rubbing her thighs together to ease the pressure. She had her legs on either sides of his body, after all, and if she pulled them away, she was going to collapse on him.

But there was something else that was rubbing against her hip, and she was confused for a moment, as only her fingertips were touching the man beneath her. Glancing down, she found his fully hard length rubbing up against her, and a tremor ran through her again, together with an unexpected blush of desire.

Looking up, she saw him smirking at her again, but his skin was more flushed than usual as well. He was obviously enjoying the slight contact between them, and he was enjoying her being aroused too. She felt him pulse and throb against her belly, and felt the spot between her legs twitch and throb in response. She couldn’t bring her hands down to touch herself, but she didn’t need to do that to know that she was more than simply damp – she was soaking wet already, and he probably knew.

His smug grin, right underneath her face, wasn’t something she was going to stand for though, and she was going to take care of it.

With an abrupt movement, she leaned forward, still holding her body over his without touching him, and pressed her lips to him aggressively, moulding her mouth against his without hesitation as her locks surrounded their faces. She knew he was going to reply, and indeed, he was more than happy to eagerly welcome her gesture. Taking advantage of his distraction – but having to consciously be careful not to get distracted at the same time – Arturia manoeuvred her hips to be positioned over his length, so that he was right where she wanted him to be.

Unable to resist any longer, the pressure and the desire too strong and overruling her head, she freed her lips, looked him in the eye and unceremoniously sank down on him, taking him inside her in one single stroke.

A strangled gasp of throaty pleasure left Gilgamesh’s mouth, but Arturia almost didn’t notice, the air knocked out of her lungs at the sudden movement that both stretched her and filled at the same time. It took her a few seconds before she was able to take a shuddering breath as she felt sweat beginning to erupt on her naked skin.

The man underneath her seemed lost in the sensation, even as his eyes hungrily still stared at her and, after finally catching her breath, Arturia attempted to move, to find a slightly better position.

They both hissed.

Arturia leaned forward slightly, unable to remain in a sitting position, and her hands flew forward, on Gilgamesh’s chest, as she found her voice again and gasped. Every minimal change of her body’s position sent a shockwave through her, and by the way he was breathing heavily, she gathered that it was probably the same for him.

The fullness inside her was quite an unusual feeling to say the least, but her body was rapidly adapting and adjusting to it, and soon she noticed how every shockwave was accompanied by intense pleasure – a kind of pleasure that bordered on ecstasy.

Remaining still was no longer an option, as her body was practically begging for more, but she wasn’t entirely sure what the best course of action was now in order to give them _both_ pleasure. She stared at Gilgamesh, meeting his eyes as he stared at her as well, unflinching even if panting.

His hands, she noticed, were balled into fists at his sides, and she realized – he was still holding back. He was keeping his promise.

Deciding to let instinct guide her, she pushed herself back a little bit, trying to concentrate. She had been rather abrupt in taking him inside her, perhaps the first thing to do was modify that. Moving her hips, she eased herself down a little more, finding a different and pleasurable direction that also gave a better position to her legs.

She wasn’t quiet as she did this; she may have been focused on the task, but it meant that she had no focus on her voice, and it took her a while to realize that the soft moans of desire she heard were coming from herself.

Not wasting any time in pondering over it, she leaned forward again, and tried to roll her hips a bit, feeling him pulse inside her. Curious, hands still on his chest, she tried to make a circular movement with her hips – and glancing down, caught the moment in which Gilgamesh’s eyes rolled back in his head and he let out a needy moan, lust clearly overcoming him for a moment.

She finally cracked a small smirk of her own, and following an impulse, came closer to his face, strangely eager to feel his lips again. He opened his mouth for her, inviting her in, letting her taste him once more, openly enjoying it as much as she did.

She took advantage of it to try something new.

Lifting herself a bit, she let him slide out of her about halfway through, before sinking back on him. The movement was slow, careful, as she didn’t want to exaggerate the sensations, but the sounds, coming both from them and their joined bodies, were increasing in volume nonetheless.

The first few times she moved her body up and down were a little awkward, as they were connected to the difficulty of finding the right rhythm, but they soon became smoother as going slow was not helping in easing the unstoppable, growing need inside her.

Emboldened by his growing hisses of pleasure but not yet completely satisfied, she reached for Gilgamesh’s fingers, forcing him to open his fists. He had closed his eyes, revelling in the sensations, but he snapped them open again to stare at her as she brought his hands to rest on her hips.

The look in her eyes was enough to confirm that he could take part in the movements her body made – in fact, he could _help_ in them, to have them be more pleasurable for them both–

He didn’t need further encouragement.

Without taking the control from her, leaving her to decide how fast to move her hips, he changed the angle slightly, and her entire body shuddered violently as his movements allowed him to find and hit a certain spot inside her _just right_ –

She bit her lips, more of an instinctual reaction than a desire to stifle to needy sounds escaping her mouth, as the movements allowed her to be filled in a way that felt astonishingly _good_ …

…but it wasn’t enough.

Her hands slid forward, reaching his chest and then his shoulders, holding onto them as her movements over him became more rapid and more erratic, the pressure increasing quickly as her hair swayed wildly with her. She felt him hold her hips more tightly as he was growing desperate in his desire too, and then one of his hands suddenly left her side to go to the exact spot where they were joined.

He didn’t just touch it, he mercilessly caressed and rubbed it – and Arturia shattered, her eyes unseeing and body unfeeling except for a sudden, elated explosion that made her go rigid and snug around him as everything else faded away for a moment of pure perfection.

Gilgamesh felt her clamp down hard on him and his ecstasy immediately followed hers, unable to stop it once he saw the beautiful expression on her stoic face as she reached it, and he joined her with a gasp of her name, his hold on her tightening as he spent himself deep inside her.

She fell on his chest, breathing heavily, unable to push herself up again for a while, all her energy having left her with the powerful release. Exhausted, feeling boneless but sated and satisfied, she finally rolled off him, landing on her back on the bed but still next to him.

They were both covered in sweat, and she took another few deep breaths to calm herself before letting her eyes linger on his flawless form briefly.

Gilgamesh had kept his promise, giving her complete control and never attempting to flip them over – something he could have easily done, yet had refrained from doing. The only thing he _had_ done by his own initiative was kissing her and later helping her reach her peak.

Against her better judgement, a small smile titled her lips upwards at the realization that this immortal being oddly seemed to be a man of his word.

She had taken care of the distraction he was for her, so that she wouldn’t be unfocused anymore. And said distraction had ended up being rather… incredible. Furthermore, even in the haze of pleasure, she couldn’t deny that his dialogue with her had made her think.

But she didn’t have enough strength to concentrate on it at the moment. Her eyelids heavy, she let them fall close and tried not to think of anything, something that proved not to be too difficult. She slowly became aware, from the sounds coming from the distance, that there seemed to be a thunderstorm outside, but she wasn’t able to find it in herself to care at the moment.

Drowsiness was taking over, and soon, without even taking notice of it, she fell asleep.

She never saw Gilgamesh remain lying down next to her, then silently get up from the bed a few hours later, right before sunbreak, and stare at her sleeping face for several long minutes before leaving the room.

…

…

When she woke up at dawn, her body feeling oddly rested, she was alone. She lifted herself from the bed, discovering that someone had wrapped the covers around her naked body during her sleep.

As she stood up to get dressed, she stopped for a moment, frowning.

She could remember _everything_ about the previous night; every moment, every detail, every word, every moan. Hadn’t Gilgamesh said that he would make her, and everyone else, forget what happened at his inn?

As she met her knights in the large entrance hall, however, while she noticed them slightly more flushed than usual, none of them seemed to have any recollection of having spent the night in pleasure. On the contrary, they all commented without deception on how they had slept soundly and felt reinvigorated and ready to resume the journey right away.

This made it obvious that their memories had been wiped – but hers hadn’t.

Such a thing puzzled her, but she didn’t find out the reason when she turned towards the inn owner – Gilgamesh, the man she been in bed with until a few hours before – who declined to receive any money for offering them shelter for the night, no matter how much she insisted.

“Having King Arthur and his knights as guests was more than enough as an honour,” he casually commented, and then added, almost flippantly, “King Arthur _did_ live up to his reputation, after all.”

It was only with effort that not even a faint tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks, while her knights didn’t understand the allusion, but she still didn’t have an explanation for the reason why she maintained her recollections of the previous night. And she didn’t receive an explanation, at least not until they were ready to depart.

Gilgamesh bid them all goodbye, smirking lazily, and at the last second he added, in a low voice, only for her ears, “Offering you shelter was my utmost _pleasure_.” His every word was carefully emphasized. “Feel free to come back any time you want, _King Arthur_.”

His crimson eyes flashed with hot desire and an undeniable promise. “Know that I will be waiting for you.”

...

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End file.
